Crude steel production in Turkey decreased by 1.5 percent year on year in June this year to 2.9 million mt, according to a statement released by the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD). In the January-June period this year, Turkey produced 15.9 million mt of crude steel, down by 16.3 percent year on year. The Turkish steel industry, which ranked 9th in world crude steel production in the first half last year, ranked 10th in the first half this year.
In June, Turkey’s finished steel consumption rose by 27.4 percent to 3.3 million mt, while in the January-June period this year the country’s finished steel consumption increased by 15.8 percent to 19.9 million mt, both year on year.
In June, Turkey’s steel exports decreased by 40.8 percent to 875,900 mt, while the value of these exports declined by 52.0 percent to $740.0 million, year on year. In the first half this year, the country’s steel exports decreased by 46.5 percent to 4.5 million mt, while the value of these exports fell by 52.5 percent to $3.9 billion, both year on year.
In June, Turkey’s steel imports increased by 12.1 percent to 1.5 million mt, while the value of these imports moved down by 9.6 percent to $1.3 billion, both year on year. In the first six months of this year, the country’s steel imports increased by 23.0 percent to 9.5 million mt, while the value of these imports fell by 4.3 percent to $8.1 billion, both year on year.
In the January-June period, Turkey’s steel export to import ratio decreased to 47.9 percent, from 96.7 percent recorded in the same period of the previous year.
According to the association, the increase in local demand in the January-June period caused by the reconstruction of the earthquake-hit zone continues to be completely met by imports. In the first six months this year, the country’s long product imports rose by 43.4 percent, driven by an 82.5 percent increase in wire rod imports. The rise in imports of long products, of which Turkey is a net exporter, strengthened concerns that the foreign trade deficit of the country will gradually increase.
The TCUD stated that China, India, South Korea and Indonesia, whose competitiveness has increased due to the decreasing energy costs, increased their shares in Turkey’s traditional markets and sold steel products at dumped prices to Turkey, posing a serious threat to the country’s foreign trade. The association noted that similar safeguard measures to those many countries implement, especially the US and the EU, should be adopted to prevent the increase in imports of dumped products and to increase exports to the previous levels.